Father's Day
by zipadeea
Summary: Barry Allen: superhero, forensic scientist, and professor of 'What to Get Your Foster Dad for Father's Day' 101. With guest appearances by a very special little bird and everybody's favorite butler.


_I guess this is kind of a companion to my other story "Lost Time," probably set a couple years after that story's timeline. Implied WestAllen. I don't know what to expect after that awesome Flash season finale, but I'm still really hoping for a Wally West next year. So many superheroes are orphans and are adopted in their sad and tragic origin stories, so I decided to bring a couple of my favorites together to discuss a shared predicament. Oh, and I realize there's practically no way Batman and Robin will ever end up on the Flash TV show, but a person can always dream. Hope you enjoy! Please read and review._

"Hey Bruce, it's just me! Call off your hounds!" Barry yelled to the cave at large, not appreciating the alarms blaring and guns directed in his face.

"Voice recognition activated. Recognize: Flash. You may proceed." A computerized voice stated, and Barry shook his head, walking the rest of the way into the cave. It seemed Bruce wasn't there yet, but Barry had a feeling he'd show up soon. There was no way Batman was going to let the curious and hyperactive Flash roam unsupervised in his domain.

Light footsteps could be heard on the stairs a few moments later. Barry didn't bother to look up from his investigation of Bruce's odd trophies and relics when he starting explaining himself.

"Hi Bruce, Oliver had some evidence for your case about Ra's, and he didn't trust any form of delivery besides, well himself actually, but I was faster and he said you really needed it now, but I am in no way going to turn into a courier service no matter how convenient and you…..you are not Bruce." Barry finished, finally turning around.

In his place stood a little boy, no more than eight or nine, with a mop of black hair and shining blue eyes. He was in pajamas, a paperback clutched in his hands.

"Oh wow, you really are the Flash! This is so cool, I've been wanting to meet you forever, but Bruce is busy a lot, and when he's not, you are, and wow!" The kid said, smile on his face. Barry couldn't help but grin back.

"You must be Richard," Barry said, sticking out his hand, which the kid shook, "I've been looking forward to meeting you, too." Barry remembered his shock a few months back, when Oliver had called with the news that Bruce Wayne had adopted a child. Bruce "I work alone" Wayne, the Batman, had taken a kid into his house to raise. Barry couldn't believe it, and on the phone it sounded as though Oliver couldn't either. But, as they'd come to learn the full story, it was hard not to understand Bruce's motives. Dick was another little eight year old boy who'd watched his parents die. Except he didn't have anyone to take care of him. It was impossible not to sympathize.

"Call me Dick. How long did it take you to get here?" Dick asked, large curious eyes staring up at him.

"3 minutes 17 seconds. New personal record. Not that I like to brag or anything." Dick laughed.

"That's amazing! Could you take me along for a ride sometime?" Dick asked hopefully. Barry chuckled.

"We'll have to ask Bruce first. He wouldn't be too happy with me if we didn't."

"Yeah, that's true." Dick sighed, smile dropping from his face. Barry's heart lurched at the sight.

"Hey kiddo, what's wrong? I'm sure he'll say yes. We should just be nice and ask first. No matter what he says about me, I know Bruce trusts me." Barry said, hoping to get a smile back from Dick. No such luck. Dick walked a couple steps away and sat in Batman's chair at the computer, swirling in circles.

"I know." Dick finally responded. Barry stopped the chair with his hand and turned the chair around to face him.

"Dick, where is Bruce?" Barry asked, realizing Batman should've been in the cave long before then.

"He got called away on urgent business in Hong Kong yesterday. He's supposed to be back in a few hours. Alfred walked over to the Drake's house down the street to deliver a baby present, but I was reading in the study, so I figured I could come say hi to you. Alfred will probably be back soon. He gets alerts about everything that goes on in the cave in his special pocket watch." Dick said knowingly, before a frown settled on his face again.

"Is everything alright, buddy? Is something going on with Bruce?" Barry asked hesitantly, his gut starting to clench. Bruce was a man with a hard exterior, but a very good heart. Barry just hoped he wasn't pushing this kid away. The boy had already been through enough, watching his parents die and being uprooted from his life. He shouldn't have to deal with a cold and absent father-figure.

"No, I mean, well kind of, I guess…" Dick trailed off.

"Is he being mean to you? Are you not happy living here? Do you want me to talk to him, I can talk to him for you-," Barry asked in rapid succession, but Dick cut him off.

"No, no, it's nothing like that at all!" Dick said suddenly, sitting up in the chair, "Bruce is great, and Alfred, too. They're really nice, and honestly I'm pretty spoiled here. And Bruce, he, he just gets it. It's easy for me to talk with him about stuff. This is the first time he's been on a big trip since I got here, and I think he was kinda mad he had to go. He said he'd take a couple days off work to make up for missing the weekend and take me to an amusement park. He's been real good to me, honest!"

Barry held up his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, Dick, I didn't mean to pry. I know what a good person Bruce is. I was just worried he might not have been, I don't know, doing what's best for you. I shouldn't have doubted him." Dick's eyes shined with realization.

"It's okay." He replied softly. "Thanks for caring. And I do miss Bruce right now; that might be part of it." Dick looked from side to side, then back up at Barry. "If I tell you something, can you promise you won't tell Bruce or Alfred? It's nothing bad or anything, if that's what you're wondering."

"Yeah, I promise." Barry responded finally. It was hard to say no to that face, and those baby blues! Bruce was in trouble when this kid became a teenager.

"Okay. So, this Sunday is Father's day, and I don't know what to do. I mean, Mother's day was just a couple months after my parents died, and it was super sad, and Bruce and I went out to the cemetery and put flowers on our moms' graves and that was that." Barry nodded in agreement, and Dick continued.

"But this is Father's day. And it will still be really sad, because I miss my dad, and my mom, all the time. But I have been here a little while, and Bruce, I mean he talks about how he cares about me and if I need anything he'll always be there, but he also says he isn't trying to ever replace my father and he understands, and I know he really does, but-,"

"You want to do something for him, to say thank you. Should you get him a gift, make him a card? And what do you sign the card? Should you say 'love' in it? Because he's not your dad, but he's taken you in and raised you because your dad can't, and you want to somehow repay the kindness, and this seems like the easiest, but also the most difficult, way." Barry finished, and saw Dick staring at him in open-mouthed shock.

"How, w-what, how-," Dick sputtered, and Barry smiled slightly.

"Can you keep a secret?" And Dick nodded his head, mouth still open, while Barry pulled off his cowl.

"Barry Allen, nice to meet you." Barry said, before walking towards the changing area. "Hopefully Bruce has some sweats down here that I won't drown in. I know Alfred's policy on suits in the manor, and I think this discussion calls for some ice cream.

"So it was really the Reverse Flash, and your dad went to jail instead?" Dick said with a gasp, the Rocky Road melting in front of him, forgotten. Barry nodded, sitting across the table from Dick in the breakfast nook of the kitchen.

"So Joe took me in. I mean, our families had always been friends, and Iris and I were close even before then, but it was weird. New house, new room, and well, new dad. The great thing about love though, is you don't ever have to stop loving other people to make room in your heart for new ones. Joe taught me how to shave, how to drive, took me to my doctor's and dentist appointments, and dropped me off for my first day at college. He was my dad in a lot of important ways.

"I don't resent my dad for missing those things. He wanted to be there, and I know he's still upset and angry that he couldn't be. I understand why, and I love my dad so, so much, but I will always appreciate and love Joe for what he's done for me." Dick nodded in agreement.

"So, what did you do that first Father's day?" He asked.

"I wrote him a thank you card." Barry said. "I just wrote out my feelings, how grateful I was to him and Iris, how happy they made me, and how much I loved them. It wasn't much, but I think he liked it." Barry smiled, remembering, "I know he did, actually. I found it once, a few years later, folded up in his wallet underneath an old school picture of me. He carried it around everywhere he went.

"It doesn't have to be anything big, kiddo. Just, maybe something to say thank you. Something to let him know that you appreciate what he's done for you."

"That's a good idea! And I have to give Alfred one, too, we wouldn't survive without him." Barry laughed out loud at that. Dick suddenly got up and ran around the table, wrapping his arms around Barry.

"Thank you, Barry. I'm really glad I had you to talk to tonight. You helped a lot." Dick said into Barry's shoulder.

"Anytime, buddy."

"Master Richard, I am very sorry I took so long, but it is past your bed—Oh, hello, Mister Allen. How good to see you this evening." Alfred said, far too calmly. Barry smiled at him knowingly, releasing Dick from his hug, but keeping an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey, Alfred. Good night, Barry. Thanks again!" Dick said before running from the kitchen and disappearing up the stairs.

"Could I interest you in some coffee, Mr. Allen?" Alfred asked politely.

"No, Alfred, that's alright. I've already had my fill of your ice cream." That got a smile out of the butler. Barry carried their dirty dishes to the sink, beginning to rinse them out before Alfred stopped him with a scandalized look.

"That would be my job, sir." Barry laughed.

"Wanna come to my house for a few days? Iris would love you."

"Well, as Master Richard so eloquently put it, they wouldn't survive without me."

"Ahh. I thought I saw you out of the corner of my eye." Barry replied, not sure what else to say.

"Thank you, Barry. Richard's such a sweet child, and he's been so good to Bruce. We just want him to feel welcomed and loved."

"You've done a good job of that. He just wants to say thank you. I should get going. Thanks for the ice cream and hospitality."

"You're welcome to stay the night, Mr. Allen." Alfred said.

"Nah, I've got a record to beat!" Barry said with a grin, racing off to change, then running out of the cave. Maybe he should introduce Dick to his cousin Wally. Barry had a feeling they'd get along well.

That Sunday afternoon, Iris and Barry were just getting home from brunch with Joe when the phone rang. With a grin and a wink to Iris, Barry raced into the kitchen, picking up the phone.

"Hello, Allen's, Barry speaking." He answered, without bothering to read the caller ID.

"Barry? It's Dick."

"Hey, kiddo! How'd it go today?"

"Umm," Dick stalled, "Good, I think." Barry's stomach lurched a little at the boy's tone. He sounded so unsure of himself.

"Well, what happened?"

"This morning Bruce and I went to the cemetery, then we came back and Alfred made us this big huge brunch. And then, well, I pulled out the cards I made and gave them to both of them…" Dick trailed off.

"What did they think?" Barry finally asked, dying to know the answer.

"Barry, I think, I think I made them cry! Both of them! It was so strange. Alfred had to blow his nose a lot and kept dabbing his eyes, then Bruce left real fast and said he had to go to the bathroom, but it took him a long time to come back and his eyes were all red. Then they gave me hugs and stuff, so I thought maybe they liked them, but they cried Barry! I didn't want to make them sad! This is a disaster, heavy on the dis." Dick explained dejectedly. Barry couldn't hold back his laughter.

"This isn't funny, Barry! It didn't work, it made them sad!" Dick said, frazzled.

"No, no, Dick, they weren't sad. They were happy!" Barry said between his chuckles.

"What?"

"Sometimes a thing can make a person so happy that they cry. You know, like when people get married or when babies or born, stuff like that." The other end of the line was silent for a moment, as Dick comprehended what Barry had said.

"You really think they cried because they were happy?" Dick finally asked, hesitant to believe, but wanting to all the same.

"I know they did, kiddo. Alfred told me so himself, and Bruce, well, you'd have to have known Bruce before to see the changes in him over the past few months, but he's happier now than I have ever seen him. I think," Barry hesitated, unsure of how to explain his thoughts to the kid. "I think being Batman is something Bruce always felt he needed to do. It gives him a purpose, but it's a very dark and demanding calling. Taking you in, that was something Bruce wanted to do, Dick, and I think it's the first time in a very long time Bruce did something for himself, not for Batman or Gotham. And you give him a new purpose, a good and constructive one. You're kind of his light in the darkness, Dick. You give him hope. And knowing that you're happy and you love him has to make him very happy, kiddo. It's been a while since he's had a family, and he just wants to do right by you." It was quiet on both ends for a moment.

"I never really thought about it like that." Dick finally said softly. "Thanks again for the advice. It helps knowing that other people understand."

Barry smiled. "Anytime. Oh, hey, next time you're in Central, call me. I want you to meet my cousin, Wally. He's a few years older than you, but I have a feeling you guys would get along very well."

"Does he happen to be related to Flash's mysterious new partner Flash Jr.?" Dick asked. Barry could hear the grin in his voice.

"It's Kid Flash, actually." Barry said with a laugh, purposely not answering the question. Bruce, and inadvertently, Dick, surely already knew the answer.

"I'll let you know. Maybe Kid Flash would like to meet Robin, too." Dick said with a giggle, before hanging up the phone.

The world better watch out, Barry couldn't help but think as he hung up the phone. The Batman actually had a heart. Oliver totally owed him fifty bucks.


End file.
